


Caller on Line 1

by taylor_writes



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Radio, College Hockey, Getting Together, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2016-08-08
Packaged: 2018-08-07 08:52:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7708735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taylor_writes/pseuds/taylor_writes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Bitty has a secret radio show instead of a secret baking vlog.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caller on Line 1

**Author's Note:**

> Characters from [Check, Please](omgcheckplease.tumblr.com)  
> Based off my own experiences as a DJ at my college radio station for the past two years. (I made up the station number and the call letters in this story, it’s not actually a real station)
> 
> Note: I've never really written a multi-chapter fic before, so hopefully this goes well and updates occasionally and I have motivation to finish it. I'm really excited about this one, and I hope you'll stick with me through this process/experience :)
> 
> Also I forgot to mention Bitty's not actually on the hockey team in this story! He's got friends that are, but he's just a regular Samwell student.

Eric Bittle pulled his outer coat tight around him as he walked quickly across campus to the Radio Shack. It was his first show after coming back from Winter Break and he couldn’t be late! 

Wouldn’t want to disappoint my three listeners he thought bitterly to himself. No one wanted to listen to a Monday night radio show, except the people that kinda had to. His mom and Coach listened from Coach’s laptop, Johnson listened regularly and sometimes mumbled about “furthering the narrative,” and the third loyal listener was the computer in the main area of the Shack that was always tuned to 103.7 KSMH. Occasionally he’d tell a friend from class about it and they’d listen for a couple weeks or so, but inevitably they’d forget or lose interest, and it would drop back down to that three again. 

He relaxed slightly as he approached the Shack with ten minutes to spare. The old building was the same as it had been when he’d arrived at Samwell a year and a half ago. It used to be an office or something, but then the department had moved to bigger and better things and left behind the one-story building now affectionately known as the Radio Shack. 

Inside, Bitty plopped on one of the disgusting couches (but not as disgusting as the one at the Haus, at least these ones were cleaned once every few years) and waited for the show before his to end. Alex’s show “Dad Rock is Rad Rock” was almost over, the last notes of some Bon Jovi song coming from the speakers all around him. 

Bitty headed back to the booth just in time to hear the closing remarks.

“Well, that was Dad Rock is Rad Rock with me, Alex, and I hope you all had a rad time! Up next is Eric and he’s got some sweet pop tunes if you want to try something new. Have a great night and I’ll see you next week for the Battle of the Dads. If you or someone you know is a dad, feel free to call in and battle each other. Here’s Bittle.”

They fist-bumped and then Bitty was alone in the booth, where he’d be staying for the next couple hours. It was time for Bittle’s Beats.

He turned up the mic and enthusiastically (well, as enthusiastic as anyone can be at 8 pm on a Monday night) said, “Hey y’all and welcome to Bittle’s Beats! I’m Bitty and get ready to listen to today’s hottest songs. And Beyoncé, always Beyoncé. Let’s start off our show with another queen though. Here’s “Blank Space” from our favorite girl T-Swift. Boy, I wish I had someone’s name to put in that blank space…”

He laughed and turned on his show playlist, and the song filled the booth and the ears of his listeners in the outside world. It was so neat, he thought, to be connected to people all over the country through music. His parents were hearing the same song he was, at the same moment. Even after a year and a half, that feeling of wonder never really went away.

Bitty rolled his eyes as he pulled up the listener count, expecting the same familiar 3 as every other time he’s done a show. Sometimes Johnson wouldn’t listen and it would drop down to 2, those were never fun shows, knowing that the only humans listening were his parents. Alex’s show was as popular as ever, with 35 listeners. For a small school like Samwell, that was a lot, especially on a weeknight when most people were studying or with their friends or doing anything else but listening to the small college radio station. 

His eyes nearly flew out of his head when the web page finally loaded on the ancient and somewhat sticky computer in the booth. 4. It said 4. He thought back over the past week, and couldn’t remember mentioning his show to anyone new. It was almost too much to hope, but maybe, just maybe someone had found his show and decided to listen. A new listener! This was the best day ever!

The Taylor Swift song ended, and Bitty found the next one on his playlist, bringing the mic back up as “Blank Space” faded out in the background.

“That was a great song to start us off, but here’s another one for comparison. This next guy is called Ryan Adams and he made a cover album of Taylor Swift’s 1989. Here’s his version of “Bad Blood.” Call in at 555-0983 and let me know which one you think is better!”

He never expected to get a caller. His parents would always text “Great show Eric! Love you!” with tons of emojis after the show, but they never really had opinions about what he played. He was starting to suspect that his dad might actually be a bigger fan of “Dad Rock is Rad Rock” than Bitty’s pop music show. 

“Oh, it’s so sad to think about the good ti-” Bitty loved to sing in the booth where no one could hear him, but he was cut off when the phone rang.

The phone that had never, ever rang before and he wasn’t even entirely sure how to use it.

*ring ring*

He glanced at the window in the booth where all the announcements were taped, searching for one he’d seen but never paid any attention to: How to Use the Phone.

*ring*

There it was! Okay so first, he plugged in headphones. Done. 

Step two: answer the call and push up the “phone” dial. Then he was supposed to talk, and tell the caller they’re on air. And when he’s ready to hang up, just pull out the headphones and hang up the phone like normal. Okay. He can do this.

“Hello! You’re on the air with Bitty here at 103.7 KSMH. What’s your name?”

“Um. Jay-Z.” His voice sounded familiar, but Bitty couldn’t remember from where.

“Jay-Z like Beyoncé and Jay-Z? I like you already! What did you call for?” Bitty was so excited that listener number four had decided to call in!

“Not like that, no. J and Z are my- never mind. You asked for an opinion about the Taylor Swift songs…” he paused, unsure of what to say next.

“Go on, I’d love to hear what you have to say.”

“It’s not really my type of music, but I enjoyed the remix. I thought it was an interesting idea to soften the song and make it more acoustic-sounding,” Mystery Caller said.

“Good point! Sometimes I prefer acoustic songs when I want to listen to the lyrics, rather than dancing to them, you know?” Bitty said.

“Well, I don’t really dance often, but I know what you mean. I often prefer songs with lyrics I relate to. Anyway, I’ll let you get back to your show, but I just wanted to call in.”

“And thanks so much for your call, sweetheart! I’ll be here every Monday night if you ever wanna call back and talk music!” Bitty smiled as he said goodbye to his first ever caller. That had gone well.

He smiled for the rest of the show, and the whole way home.

**Author's Note:**

> Show 1 Playlist:  
> [Blank Space](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-ORhEE9VVg) \- Taylor Swift  
> [Bad Blood](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V-8VP5dnrQ) \- Ryan Adams


End file.
